Donna K. (Hewitt) Fjoser

Remembering Donna Kay Fjoser

I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is done.

I’d like to leave an echo whispering softly down the ways, of happy times and laughing times and bright and sunny days. — Helen Lowrie Marshall

Donna Kay Fjoser (née Hewitt) was born in Mankato, Minnesota, on January 14, 1952. The daughter of Owen and Marion Hewitt, she was the fourth of six children. She grew up on a farm just outside Upper North Mankato and graduated from Mankato West High School in 1970.

She and her former husband, Ted Fjoser, married and started a family, becoming the proud parents of three children – Andy, Sarah, and Ben – who brought them endless joy.

After high school, Donna first attended beauty school and was later known best for her work with Midwest Realty and at Reynolds hearing aid services. For many years, her basement doubled as a home salon, where friends and family came for the latest hairstyles and a good chat. She was also well known for her many years of service leading the 4-H food stand during the county fair and demolition derbies.

Donna was a woman of many hobbies and particularly loved crafting, cooking, baking and growing hostas. Friends and family will fondly remember – and many benefitted from – her love of hosting and bringing people together. The lake house that she lived in for many years was a gathering place for friends and family alike, and where countless weekends and evenings were spent on the water or relaxing on the deck. Kids especially loved the endless supply of pop from the infamous pop machine.

In later years, Donna could often be found playing Candy Crush or Words with Friends, or going on road trips in the Mustang convertible with her son, Ben. Sitting on the porch, greeting neighbors, and watching the world go by became one of her greatest joys. She truly loved her retirement and the extra time it gave her to spend with her loved ones and doing things that made her happy. Her children and grandchildren fondly recall how she supported them through every sport, performance, and milestone. She was their biggest cheerleader and there for them during many ups and downs.

The best way to describe Donna is as a spunky woman with a radiant smile and an infectious laugh. Anyone who knew her knows how easily she could bring lightness and laughter to any conversation or gathering. She was joyful, warm-hearted, and so full of life. Words can’t fully capture her spirit, but to know Donna was to love her and she will be greatly missed by all.

She is survived by her children Andrew, Sarah (Dan), and Benjamin; grandchildren Hailey, Austin, Kierstyn, Breeanna Kay, and Tyler; and great-grandsons Allen and Cooper, as well as her siblings and many nieces and nephews. She is reunited in heaven with her parents, Owen and Marion, and her beloved grandsons, Drew and Conner.

Her laughter and love will live on in everyone she touched.

A celebration of life for Donna will take place on this Saturday, November 15, at 3pm at the Belgrade United Methodist Church in North Mankato.